The town was granted by the authorities of New Hampshire to Jonathan Wiggin and others in 1727, and was originally 9 miles (14 km) square, covering nearly all the territory granted to Ebenezer Eastman and others by the authorities of Massachusetts two years previous, under the name of "Pennacook" (now Concord).

These complicated lines of the two towns coming from two different authorities were not settled decisively until after the final separation of the two colonial provinces.

The government of New Hampshire gave Bow the preference in its grant of 1727, and did not recognize the title of the Pennacook grantees, and in the bill giving a charter for the parish of Concord, it was worded as "taking a part of the town of Bow," etc.

On September 28, 2019, hundreds of climate activists protested in Bow against Merrimack Station, one of the last remaining coal-fired power plants in New England.

67 people, who carried buckets signifying their intent to physically remove coal from the site, were arrested by state police.

[1] The highest point in Bow is Picked Hill, at 915 feet (279 m) above sea level, in the southern part of town.

Bow is a part of New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district, and is currently represented by Democrat Ann McLane Kuster (D-Hopkinton).

Over the past decade Democrats have improved, with Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden greatly exceeding their statewide margins of victory in the town.